


Parallel Plans

by DayenuRose



Series: Snapshots or Dick/Babs Week 2018 [4]
Category: Batgirl (Comics), Birds of Prey (Comic), Nightwing (Comics), Titans (Comics)
Genre: Best Friends, Dick/Babs week 2018, Dinner, F/M, Friendship, Guys Night, Movie Night, ladies night
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-18
Updated: 2018-12-18
Packaged: 2019-09-21 16:45:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17046899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DayenuRose/pseuds/DayenuRose
Summary: On the same night Dick planned to have a guys night with Roy, Babs planned to have a ladies night with Dinah. What happens when their plans for a night off coincide?Dick and Babs Week 2018Day 2: Best Friends





	Parallel Plans

“It started when I realised I hadn’t seen Roy for a while....”

 

****

 

"Roy!" Dick greeted his friend with a hug and clapped him on the back. "Glad you could make it."

"You should be thanking Alfred. If he hadn't offered to watch Lian, I don’t know what I would have done. I definitely wouldn't have been able to get out." Roy massaged his temples and slumped onto Dick's couch. 

Dick grabbed a couple of sodas from his fridge and handed one to his friend as he sat on a nearby chair. “Alfie’s the best. I'm certain he was thrilled to have a little one to spoil. We all came to him a bit too late to receive a proper spoiling."

Roy grinned. "Lian certainly doesn't lack for spoiling. She has a whole bunch of aunts and uncles willing to see to that. Including you."

“She’s easy to spoil. She’s a great kid.” Dick sipped at his soda to hide the contemplative look on his face. 

“You want one, don’t you? A kid, that is.”

Dick shrugged. “Sure. Someday. You know, when things settle down.”

He didn’t have an idea when that would be, but he had the feeling that time was passing him by. His parents had had him when they were younger than he was now. Heck, he must be around the age Bruce was when he took Dick in as his ward.  Over the years, there had been times he thought he’d found the right person to share his life with, but those relationships had always fallen through. He wanted Ba—No, he couldn’t think that way. She’d made her feelings on the subject clear. They were friends. That would have to be enough...

“So, what do you want to do tonight?” Dick asked changing the subject.

Roy didn’t bother to hide the yawn. “I know this is going to make me sound about eighty, but all I really want to do is to grab dinner and catch a movie that doesn’t feature anthropomorphised animals and characters soliloquising their feelings through song.”

“Nah, that doesn’t make you sound old. It makes you sound like a dad.” He shoved the newspaper over to Roy. “Why don’t you check out the listings and choose a movie. I’ll agree to anything that isn’t animated or a musical. And I get to take Lian to the next Disney movie.” 

“Deal.” Roy flipped through the paper to the Entertainment section, turning past the articles to the pages that listed theatres and show times. “Wow, I’m more out of the loop than I thought. I haven’t heard of any of these.”

“Well, are there any that sound good?” Dick stood and stretched towards the ceiling. 

“How about ‘Challenge Street IV’?”

Gathering the empty soda cans, Dick headed for the kitchen. He’d been planning on asking Babs to watch it with him. They’d watched all the earlier films in the series together and he was looking forward to continuing the tradition.

But, he’d promised Roy a guys night, and he wasn’t going to back out now. His friend really needed a night not only out, but off too. If he promised not to spoil the ending, maybe Babs wouldn’t mind going with him later on, even though he’d already seen the film. “Sure, Roy. Sounds great. What time?” 

Roy folded the paper so the showings were visible. He ran a thumbnail over the folds, making the creases sharp. “There’s a showing in forty-five minutes. Do you think we can make it?”

Dick snatched a hoodie off the back of the chair and checked his pockets for his keys and wallet. “Which theatre?”

“Westwood 28.” 

“Yeah, that won’t be a problem. Let’s go.” Dick waited at the door. “After the movie, we can grab dinner at the bistro across the street from the theatre.” 

 

“Hello. Anyone home?” Dinah called as she let herself into Babs’ apartment. 

“Very funny,” Babs replied from the other room, exhaustion edged her words. “I saw you coming. Do you think you’d be able to come in that easily without me knowing?” 

Dinah rounded the corner and greeted her friend with a hug. Since Babs was facing a bank of monitors, Dinah wrapped her arms around her friend from behind and rested her head on Babs’ shoulder. Dinah tried to piece together the information that scrolled across the screen, but to no avail. “All right, I give up. What does this have to do with ladies night?”

Babs shrugged Dinah off her shoulder. “I thought I told you, Helena’s sick. She caught the flu that was going around her school.”

“Yeah, you did. But that doesn’t mean we have to cancel. The two of us can hang out just as well as the three of us could.” Dinah wandered into the kitchen and helped herself to a soda from the refrigerator. “You want one?”

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Babs sank back against her chair. “Sure. Something with caffeine.” 

Dinah pressed the cold can against her friend’s forehead. Babs sighed. “Oh, that feels good.” 

“Uh-huh. You definitely need a break from staring at all those tiny screens. We’re going out.” Dinah sank onto the couch. “How about a movie?”

Babs raised an eyebrow as she wheeled her chair back from the desk. “You do realise what you just suggested contradicts your advice to get away from the screens.” 

“Well, I said you needed a break from tiny screens. Besides, you have me heading out on a mission tomorrow. I want to relax tonight.” She fiddled with the chain of her canary necklace. 

“Fine. What movie?” Babs headed towards the bathroom. She needed to clean up before they headed out.

“How about ‘Challenge Street IV’?” Dinah didn’t move from the couch, she just spoke louder so Babs could hear her. 

Babs frowned at her reflection as she ran a brush through her hair. She’d been waiting to see that one with Dick. But, she had promised Dinah a ladies night. The friends didn’t get to see each other anywhere near enough. Sure, they talked all the time, but that wasn’t the same as actually spending time in person. ”What else is playing? I heard there’s a pretty good Dickens adaptation playing in the theatre off Eighth.”

The blonde grabbed the newspaper from the end table and turned to the Entertainment section. “No, I refuse on principle. There is no way on earth I am going to a movie called ‘Bleak House.’ I don’t care how inspiring the original novel was, that title alone makes me want to run in the opposite direction. Seriously, I want to go to the theatre and spend the next few hours lost in mindless action.” 

“Well, there’s a foreign film that is receiving a lot of praise, maybe we could…”

“Non. Nein. Nyet. In other words NO!” Dinah ran her hand over the list as she re-read the options. “Seriously, ‘Challenge Street IV’ is the only halfway decent thing playing. If you really don’t want to see that, I suppose we could do something else. Bowling?”

“No, let’s go to your movie. I’ve been wanting to see it too.” Babs sighed. If she promised not to spoil the ending, maybe Dick wouldn’t mind going with her later on, even though she’d already seen the film. 

Dinah bit her lip as she studied her friend. “Wait…were you hoping to see it with ….”

“Don’t worry about it. This is ladies night. We are going to that movie and we’re going to forget about all the craziness in our lives for a couple of hours.” Babs didn’t want to think about him. Not now. He’d made himself perfectly clear. They were friends. That would have to be enough....

“Fine.” Dinah sighed. She had a suspicion of what her friend was keeping from her. But, she wasn’t going to push. “Do you want to grab dinner before or after the movie?”

Babs was back in the living room. She’d changed her clothes and was ready for a night out. “How about afterwards. We can go to the bistro across the street from the theatre. They have this amazing gelato you need to try.” 

“Sounds like a plan to me.” Dinah grabbed her jacket. It was too warm to wear it at the moment, but once the sun set things would cool off quickly. “Are you going to drive or shall I?” Dinah wound the chain of her necklace around her fingers.

Babs grabbed her bag and wheeled her chair towards the door. “Unless you’ve recently acquired a wheelchair accessible car, I’m driving.” 

“Good,” Dinah grinned. “I took a cab from the airport.” 

 

Dinah must have been right about ‘Challenge Street IV’ being the only halfway decent movie playing. Babs would be the first to admit that the series was far from high art, but it was fun in the mindless action movie sort of way. And she’d enjoyed the first three. Then again, maybe it had been the company. 

The theatre was packed. From what Babs could tell, there were about only six seats scattered around the theatre. It was a good thing that half of them were in the designated accessible row. Babs manoeuvred her chair down the aisle and backed into the open space between two pairs of seats. They weren’t great seats, but without ramps, the stadium seating remained inaccessible to her. 

“Save my spot,” Dinah said. She draped her jacket over the single seat to Babs’ left. “I’m going to get popcorn. Do you want anything?” 

“No, I’m good.”

As Dinah exited house right, Dick and Roy entered house left. Stopping in the same place Babs had, Dick examined the remaining open seats. There were about five left and most of them were nowhere near each other. 

“Those two are almost close.” Roy pointed up at a couple seats. They were in two different rows, but other than that they were practically one in front of the other.

“Nah,” Dick shook his head and pointed at the last two seats in the accessible row. He hated the thought of taking the seats from someone who might need them. Still the movie was about to start—or at least the trailers were. “What about tho—Babs?”

Dick squeezed in between Babs’ chair and the pair of seats to her right. He wrapped an arm around her in a one armed hug and she returned it with a full hug. “What are you doing here?”

“We had plans for a guys night,” Roy explained taking the last remaining open seat. “Didn’t expect the theatre to be so crowded.” 

Babs nodded. “Dinah said the same thing.” 

Roy looked around at the nearby seats. “Where is she? We’re not taking her seat, are we?”

“No.” Babs gestured to the jacket on her left. “She went to grab some popcorn.”

Dick grinned and raised his tub as in a toast. “We already got ours. Want some?”

 

As the trailers began, flickering across the screen with the promise of movies yet to come, Babs hadn't noticed Dinah returning with her own large tub of popcorn. Babs leaned over with her head practically resting on Dick’s shoulder as they carried on a whispered commentary debating the merits of the upcoming releases. Dinah nudged her friend’s arm with her tub of popcorn. "Do you want some?"

Babs started. She turned to her friend, a slight flush heated her cheeks as a sudden explosion on the screen illuminated the theatre. She glanced down at the popcorn already in her hand. "Uh....Dick’s already sharing with me.”

Dinah shook her head and tugged on Babs’ sleeve, pulling the red head close enough to carry on their own whispered conversation. 

“Did you plan this? What is Dick doing here?” Dinah asked in a terse whisper. She leaned forward to get a better view of the seat beyond Dick. “Is that Roy?”

“Yes.” Babs murmured, keeping her voice low. “I suppose they’re here to watch the movie too. Why else? And no, I didn’t plan this. You chose the movie. Remember?” 

“Fine, I’ll take it as the world’s greatest coincidence. But does that mean I’ll have to share your attention this evening?” Dinah tossed a piece of popcorn at Babs. With reflexes honed by years of vigilante training, Babs deflected the rogue kernel to the floor. 

“Relax, Dinah, we’re just friends.” Babs cast a quick glance over at Dick who was having his own whispered conversation with Roy. With a resigned sigh, she added under her breath. “Best friends....”

 

At this point of the evening, Dinah wasn’t surprised when two minutes after they were seated, Dick and Roy walked into the same restaurant. Babs, on the other hand, appeared completely surprised and delighted at the turn of events. She caught Dick’s eye and waved him over. 

“Hey, long time no see.” Dick smiled as he took the chair beside Babs. 

Roy glanced around the table with a shrug as he sat between Dick and Dinah in the last chair at the round table. “Did the two of you plan this?”

“No,” Dick and Babs said in unison without even a glance at the other. 

“Right,” Roy clearly didn’t believe their answer, even though it was true. He picked up the menu and perused the selection.

Babs shivered, rubbing her hands up her bare arms. She’d forgotten to grab a jacket on her way out of her place and the short sleeves weren’t cutting it in the cooling night. Without a word, Dick slipped out of his hoodie and handed it to her. Still warm from his body heat, Babs curled up in the sweatshirt. It smelled like him. She missed having his scent around her home. 

“You could have borrowed my jacket if you were so cold.” Dinah’s jacket was draped over the back of her chair. 

“But I like this one. It’s comfortable.” Babs curled her hands up into the sleeves of the hoodie. “Besides, that looks like your work jacket and I definitely don’t have the voice to pull it off.” 

Before the conversation could progress any farther, their waitress appeared. “Hi, I’m Mandy and can I start you off with anything?”

Recording the order of four coffees on her pad, she paused for a moment before continuing. The pen nib pressed into the pad as she studied the occupants of the table. “Will this be together or separate?”

More or less in unison, the four friends answered, “Separate.” 

“All right, how are we dividing this up? Couples?” With the back end of her pen Mandy drew an imaginary line connecting Dick and Babs, then—with a slight hesitation—between Roy and Dinah. 

“No couples. We’re all separate,” Babs clarified.

Mandy’s cheeks coloured as she worried that her presumption might offend her customers. “Really? I’m sorry. I was certain you were a couple.”

The last part was directed primarily at Dick and Babs. The mistake was rather an easy one to make. Without thinking about it, Dick had placed a hand over Babs’ while they studied their separate menus. Babs had done nothing to dissuade him.

Dinah rolled her eyes. “Never mind, we’ll take care of it.” 

 

Dick had forgotten about the half finished lasagna on his plate as his conversation with Babs grew more animated. “Do you remember when we went to see the second part....” 

“....it took us three times...”

“Four.”

“That’s right. Four times to see the movie the whole was through. Though I’m not sure the second time counted, we didn’t make it through five minutes before Bruce needed us.” Babs absently twirled her fettuccine around her fork. 

“At that point, why didn’t you just wait for it to come out on video?” Roy asked. He refilled his coffee more out of habit than need. He wasn’t planning on super-heroing that night since he was a guest in Gotham and Batman was particular about who he allowed to patrol his city. Though, if Dick asked him to join on a late night patrol, he wouldn’t refuse. 

Dick, finally remembering he’d barely eaten, cut a bite-sized piece off his lasagna and balanced it on his fork as he thought back. He made a face at the lukewarm pasta as he chewed. “We caught the first one in the theatre when we were benched after a patrol gone bad.” 

Babs rubbed her shoulder with the memory of an old wound, and reached for Dick’s free hand with her own. “Since the first movie had done such a good job at taking our minds off our troubles, we were hoping the same from the second.”

“So, did it live up to the hype?” Dinah stuck her spoon into bowl of the much lauded gelato. 

“Well, after the first three failed attempts, there wasn’t much that could live up to that kind of build up.” Babs paused, reflecting on the fact that she and Dick hadn’t been dating then either. They’d been friends for longer than they’d dated and neither of them wanted to lose the friendship. Part of the reason they’d been so insistent on going to the movie was to prove that nothing had changed. Over the years, relationships with others had come and gone, but through it all, they remained friends. “Still, I got what I wanted from the movie.”

“So did I,” Dick muttered. 

Dinah exchanged a glance with Roy across the table that seemed to ask, _When will the two of them get a clue?_

Roy shrugged. He scraped his fork along his plate gathering the last of the cake crumbs. 

Babs wince at the sound before her gaze dropped down to her plate and the forgotten fork with its knot of pasta. She untangled her fork and scooped a rogue noodle from the mess. “Um, maybe I’ll take this home and reheat it later...”

“Good idea.” Dick pushed away his plate and noticing for the first time that Roy and Dinah had moved onto dessert without them. “When did the waitress come by with the dessert menu?”

“About ten minutes ago.” Dinah allowed Babs to swipe the last spoonful of her gelato. “The two of you were deep in conversation about film theory or some such, I lost track when you kept finishing each other’s half finished sentences.”

With a nod, Roy agreed. “Yeah, I got a bit lost when you started mentioning characters that hadn’t been in the movie. Dinah and I were trying to figure out if I’d missed the second or the third.”

“Oh, sorry.” Babs flushed realising that she hadn’t been a very good friend. 

“You better be.” Dinah elbowed the other woman. “We’re going to have a serious girl talk tonight. And, if you don’t listen, I’ll drag Helena in—flu or no flu—to make you see sense.” 

“Yes, ma’am.” Babs gave her friend a cheeky grin that matched the mischievous glimmer in Dinah’s eyes. 

Dick slipped his hand from under Babs’. “Sorry Roy, You didn’t go through all the trouble of finding a babysitter for Lian to end up listening to us reminisce.” 

“No, not really, but the evening’s not over yet. You know Gotham, I bet you could find something else for us to do tonight.” Roy emptied the last of the coffee from the pot into Dick’s raised cup. 

“Sure. I know just the thing.” Dick leaned back in his chair like he hadn’t a care in the world. 

Mandy paused by their table on her way to deliver drinks to another. “Here are your checks. You can pay when you’re ready. No hurry.” She tapped the two slips of paper before she headed off to her next table. 

Despite his squawk of protest, Babs reached over Dick and grabbed both the slips. Even after their insistence at the beginning of the meal and throughout, Mandy had divided their meals according to the non-existent couples—Babs and Dick, Dinah and Roy. Babs sighed and grabbed her wallet. Pulling enough cash for both bills, she flagged Mandy down before she returned to the kitchen. She handed their waitress the money. “And we need two boxes. Please.” 

“Of course. Just a moment.” Mandy headed to the register, leaving the four friends to finish up their meals. 

“She split the bill by couples, didn’t she?” Dinah asked, a wry edge to her words. “How much do I owe you?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Babs waved off any further protest. “Let’s leave it as my treat.” 

“Well, thanks. Next time it’s my turn.” Dinah looped an arm around Babs’ shoulders. “And next time, let’s meet in Metropolis or somewhere....”

“Hey,” Dick protested. “Are you saying you don’t want us around?” 

“I’m saying ladies night isn’t so much ladies night when her boyfriend is hanging out with us...,” Dinah fired back. 

Before Dick or Babs could protest that they were definitely not dating, Mandy returned with the boxes. 

“I’m so sorry” Her face was cherry red. “I split the bill the wrong way. I remembered you wanted it split, but not how many ways. Four? Three? Do you want me to...”

“It’s fine, we figured it out.” Babs smiled genially, soothing their waitress’ harried nerves. The girl couldn’t be much over sixteen. 

Dick shared a private grin with the others. Babs taking charge of the situation without a by your leave from the rest of them was more than familiar territory. After all, her night job tended to roll over into a day job as she orchestrated the data for the superhero community and led the Birds of Prey.

Mandy placed the change on the table. “Oh, um, thanks. And, here’s your change.”

“Before you go, could you do me a favour?” Babs asked as she rummaged in her bag. 

“Sure?” Mandy bit her lip.

“Would you take a picture of us?” After handing the waitress her camera, Babs tugged Dinah and Dick closer. Dick ran a hand through his hair, trying to tame the wayward ends to no avail. Dinah placed an arm around Babs’ shoulders, only to find Dick’s arm already there. Roy scooted his chair closer to Dick’s and they all leaned in close together. 

“Say cheese.” The flash went off as Mandy took the picture. The camera whirred as the film advanced. She handed the camera back to Babs. 

With the picture completed, Roy returned his chair to its place and Dinah was making Babs promise to send her a copy of the photo once it was developed.

“Thanks,” Dick offered Mandy one of his charming smiles that started a new round of blushing. This time it had nothing to do with embarrassment. 

“Flirt,” Babs teased. She reached over and smoothed his hair. 

“I only have eyes for you,” Dick retorted without hesitation. 

Though only the movement around their table ceased, as Dinah and Roy locked eyes on their friends, it felt like the entire restaurant had also paused in that moment of time. 

Babs worked her mouth as though she was trying to form words, only to find herself incapable of speech. At the same moment Dick’s mouth snapped shut, like he couldn’t believe he actually said that out loud.

“You know, this whole evening would probably have been a whole lot less awkward if the two of you would kiss already.” Roy pushed himself back from the table. “Do you want to head out Dinah? I have some new pictures of Lian I can show you while we wait for these two to get their acts together.” 

“That sounds great.” Dinah gave Babs a stare that said, _Sort this out_ , as she stood and joined Roy. “We’ll be right outside.” 

Babs nodded, still unable to form words, let alone sentences. They sat in silence for a moment, before words began to coalesce once more. “So....” she said. 

“So....” Dick repeated. 

Once again they were holding hands, but this time on purpose. 

 

****

 

“So....” Lian sat up suddenly as the story came to a close. “What happened next?”

“We talked,” Babs said, a coy smile played at her lips. 

“We may have kissed,” Dick added, placing a kiss on his wife’s cheek.

Lian pouted. “Really? That’s how the story ends?” 

“Of course not.” Dick stood and stretched. The afghan fell from Babs’ shoulders as he moved. “But, you already know the rest of the story. Not long after that, we got back together. We got married and started a family. As for an ending, there’s no end yet. Hopefully there won’t be one for a long time. This story is still on-going.”

“You guys are sooo cheesy.” The teenager rolled her eyes in a way that reminded Babs of Dinah and reminded Dick of Roy. At the same time she grinned in a way that was all her own. 

Babs slid her finger under the picture and popped it out of the album. “Would you like this?” 

Hesitating for a brief moment, Lian nodded and took the picture. “Yeah, thanks.”

Dick moved behind Babs and began massaging her shoulders. Babs hummed appreciatively. She brushed her hair off her neck and relaxed into his touch. 

Lian affected a yawn. She stretched towards the ceiling, shrugging off the blanket. “Think I’m going to head to bed.” 

“Thanks for watching Mary. She thinks the world of you,” Babs said. 

“No problem. She’s a great kid.” Lian headed towards the basement guest room. Before disappearing downstairs, she turned back towards the couple. “Uncle Dick, do you think I could take Mary to the next Disney movie?”

Dick grinned, remembering when he was the one taking toddler Lian to the movies. “Of course.” 

“Good night,” Babs said. She grabbed Dick’s hand before the basement door shut.

When they were alone, she pulled him in close. She was certain she was the luckiest woman in the world. She’d married not only the love of her life, but her best friend as well. 

 


End file.
